The tricky geometry and programming requirements of this 196,000 gsf LEED Gold-certified project drove the design of 42-foot long-span slabs and a column-free prow.

2001 Market | 38 Dolores is a mixed-use development incorporating housing, retail, and associated parking at the crossroads of San Francisco's Hayes Valley, Mission Dolores, Upper Market, and Castro neighborhoods. The project comprises an eight-story building of 81 luxury rental condominiums; a 30,000 sf Whole Foods Market occupying the ground floor; and a two-story below-grade parking garage for 125 cars.

The transformed infill site, formerly occupied by an auto showroom, had an unusual configuration at the skewed corner of Market and Dolores. It also challenged the design team to meet residential and commercial concerns in an urban neighborhood, with taller, denser development along the busy Market Street corridor and a lower smaller-scale development along the adjacent residential street.

Tipping designed the structure using concrete framing with thin-profile slabs, which allowed the architecture team to create the project's most prominent feature, a ship-like prow that uses the site's unique geometry. Each floor slab at the prow cantilevers 22 feet over the main entrance. In addition, the structure and programming required long-span slabs up to 42 feet, as well as transfer girders below grade to effectively integrate parking with retail and residential space planning. To create a large, column-free volume within the Whole Foods Market space, the second floor residential mezzanine was partially hung from the third floor concrete slab.